Saturday, March 08, 2008

Performing in blackface was a theatrical convention used by many entertainers at the beginning of the 20th century, having its origin in the minstrel show. Al Jolson was the most famous performer to use blackface and thus is sometimes used as an example of whites propagating racial stereotypes in film. However, Jolson's blackface characters were always the star performers, as opposed to simple minstrel singers. Since leading black performers were unheard of at that time, either on stage or in movies, his blackface character would not actually be considered a stereotype.